Elizabeth Warren, Scott Brown spat highlights hypocrisy on nudity

Here’s the strange thing about campaign laughtrack between Elizabeth Warren and Scott Brown: When was the last time Republicans defended someone for taking their clothes off?

It’s actually been quite entertaining, this neck-and-neck (or abs-to-abs) battle for the U.S. Senate in Massachusetts. When asked how she paid for college, Warren, a Democrat, teased Brown, the Republican incumbent, for posing nude in Cosmopolitan in 1982:

“I didn’t take my clothes off,” Warren quipped.

And that led Brown, the recumbent incumbent, to respond: “Thank God!” on a radio talk show.

Funny stuff – as long as they get back to discussing the real issues facing the nation.

“Senator Brown’s comments are the kind of thing you would expect to hear in a frat house, not a race for U.S. Senate,” Clare Kelly, executive director of the Massachusetts Democratic Party, said in a statement. “Scott Brown’s comments send a terrible message that even accomplished women who are held in the highest esteem can be laughingly dismissed based on their looks.”

Uh, boy.

And not to be outdone, two female Republican Senators felt the need to spring to Brown’s defense. They didn’t appreciate Warren busting Brown’s ... well, you know what we mean.

Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) said in a statement published by Politico: “It’s inappropriate to make light of his personal circumstances, or to disparage or belittle him for the decisions he made to improve his life. Scott is one of the best guys to work with in the Senate, and I am proud to call him my colleague.”

Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) said, “It’s wrong to mock anyone who had to make hard choices to overcome tough obstacles." She added, “His story is no different than millions of Americans who are doing everything they can to make ends meet.”

This, from the GOP (Grand IOkl’ Prudes?), which historically has railed against nudity everywhere – on TV, in movies, in go-go bars, in magazines (like Cosmo), at the beach, during halftime at the Super Bowl, at a Lady Gaga concert, you name it.

The naked truth: When it’s one of them, Republicans are willing to look the other way. (After a quick peek, of course.)